Birth of a New Machine - z13

by Brenda J. Christie

IBM Poughkeepsie Plant

This is a great article that shows the human side of how the IBM System z13 gets put together.  The article, IBM Shipping z13 Mainframe Today, is in stark contrast to what one would usually think of when the name IBM is mentioned.  One thinks Ginni Rometty, one thinks multi-billion dollar, blue chip global organization, Big Blue, one things many things.

The article also includes a video taken at the IBM Poughkeepsie, NY plant.  To see the video is to realize that behind all those celestrial, stratospheric, generally out of reach to the average person things, are the humans, regular middle class people, who are responsible for the birth of a new machine.

They're not the Silicon Valley types awash in cash, fancy cars and over-priced properties that have driven so many middle-class people out of the market.

Yet, their dedication, unsung expertise, traditional pride in the work they do for IBM, and this author suspects, the world at large in general, is responsible for one of the longest running success stories in American business - the mainframe.

Not a flash in the pan, there's a lot to be learned here.

Bye for now,

Brenda J. Christie

---

⁽¹⁾ Photo courtsey of the Poughkeepsie Journal Archive